second-guessing

verb

present participle of second-guess
1
as in outguessing

Related Words

Relevance
2
as in reasoning

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for second-guessing
  1. balking
  2. reasoning
  3. overreaching
  4. analyzing
  5. outmaneuvering
  6. reviewing
  7. outsmarting
  8. exploring
Verb
  • Montreal was one of the cities that pulled out of the process after balking at increasing cost estimates.
    — Ian Nicholas Quillen, Forbes.com, 4 July 2026
  • Higher education is under siege, with many students and parents balking at high costs.
    — Washington Post, Washington Post, 10 June 2026
Definition of balking
Verb
  • The update to Muse Spark beats out Google’s latest release of Gemini in benchmarks measuring coding and reasoning capabilities, according to the tech giant.
    — Ben Weiss, Fortune, 9 July 2026
  • Judge Biggs largely agreed with Williamson that Ford should have known her counterclaims were without merit, reasoning that outlook became clear after the court held the five-year contract was void as a matter of law.
    — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 9 July 2026
Definition of reasoning
Verb
  • The grand jury subpoena was filed in April and was almost immediately met with resistance from Fulton County officials, who argued the request was overreaching and came from baseless claims of election fraud six years ago.
    — Irene Wright, USA Today, 8 July 2026
  • In France, Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party has opportunistically seized on air-conditioning, portraying it as an urgent quality-of-life issue that moralizing environmentalists and overreaching technocrats have ignored.
    — Thomas Chatterton Williams, The Atlantic, 28 June 2026
Definition of overreaching
Verb
  • By analyzing these correlations, researchers can certify that a system is genuinely quantum without opening it up and inspecting its hardware.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 18 July 2026
  • By analyzing community data, Banner identified severe food insecurity in one market.
    — Robert Reiss, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
Definition of analyzing
Verb
  • May built one of the most dominant teams in Big Ten history by outmaneuvering his peers in the transfer portal.
    — Austin Meek, New York Times, 30 June 2026
  • Two generals agreed with Ashley's characterization, stressing the view that on the front lines, Ukraine was outmaneuvering Russia.
    — Aidan Stretch, CBS News, 9 June 2026
Definition of outmaneuvering
Verb
  • The investigating committee led by High Court judge David Lok is expected to give recommendations after reviewing the fire’s cause, potential systemic problems and whether existing regulations and penalties are sufficient.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 July 2026
  • The Art Journal reported that the authorities are reviewing his protection after convictions linked to his performances Lighting and Pornopolitics, which involved property damage and the publication of an intimate video of a French politician.
    — Harrison Jacobs, ARTnews.com, 17 July 2026
Definition of reviewing
Verb
  • Selecting a college major is not an exercise in outsmarting the admissions system.
    — Christopher Rim, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026
  • Mosquitoes just might be outsmarting us Mosquitoes may be beating us at our own game − by making repellent attractive.
    — Robert Abitbol, USA Today, 13 June 2026
Definition of outsmarting
Verb
  • That was one of the main goals when designing the app, since an internet connection isn't always guaranteed when exploring nature in Michigan.
    — Jack Springgate, CBS News, 13 July 2026
  • The strategy reflects a broader shift among Chinese chip companies that are exploring architectural innovations instead of relying solely on smaller manufacturing processes.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 13 July 2026
Definition of exploring
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

second-guesses
second-guessing
secondhand
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Second-guessing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/second-guessing. Accessed 20 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of raffish

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
child-detective
Spot the Misspelled Word July 2026 Those little red underlines can't help you now...
See All